Fungalpedia – Note 2750, Zygospermellaceae

 

Zygospermellaceae. S.K. Huang, Maharachch. & K.D. Hyde.

Citation when using this data: Huang SK et al. 2021 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank

Classification: Sordariales, Sordariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Coprophilous, entomogenous or on the rock. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, solitary, superficial to semi-immersed, obpyriform to subglobose, dark brown to black, verrucose, ostiolate. Peridium comprising carbonaceous to membranaceous, brown to black cells of textura angularis to textura prismatica. Paraphyses unbranched, broad, cylindrical, ventricose, septate. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to subclavate, pedicellate, apex rounded, with J- apical ring. Ascospores uni- or bi-seriate, hyaline, aseptate, fusiform to ellipsoidal when young, becoming elongate-subfusiform, ends truncate, 1–3-septate, constricted at the middle septum, dark brown when mature, with an appendage and germ pore at each end. Appendages terminal, hyaline, cylindrical, tapering, smooth-walled, ends rounded, with longitudinally striate. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiophores arising from aerial hyphae, erect, inflated at the base. Conidia small, globose to oval, forming globose masses on the apex of the phialides (adapted from Cain 1934,1935; Lundqvist 1972; Zhang et al. 2017).

Notes: Zygospermella was initially introduced as Delitschia (Pleosporales) because of the similar hourglass-shaped ascospores, and then redefined as Zygospermella and placed in Lasiosphaeriaceae (Mouton 1897; Cain 1935; Lundqvist 1969). Phylogenetically, Zygospermella and Lasiosphaeris form a clade sister to Neoschizotheciaceae (Kruys et al. 2014; Marin-Felix et al. 2020). In this study, Lasiosphaeris, Zygospermella, Episternus and Ramophialophora petraea clustered as a sister clade of Neoschizotheciaceae in LSU sequence data (not shown). However, in multi-gene analysis, Episternus onthophagi, Ramophialophora petraea and Zygospermella insignis form an independent cluster (83%ML/0.99PP) and nested in Sordariales as an orphan clade (83%ML/1.00PP). In addition, the phialophora-like hyphomycetous E. onthophagi is epizoic fungus and R. petraea was collected on the rock in Karst cave (Zhang et al. 2017; Górz and Boroń 2018). Zygospermella has special hourglass-shaped ascospores attached to terminal appendages with longitudinally striate, which is different from the other members in Sordariales. 

Type genus: Zygospermella Cain 1935.

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Zygospermellaceae.

 

References

Cain RF 1934 – Studies of Coprophilous Spaeriales in Ontario, pp 1–126.

Cain RF 1935 – The genus Zygospermum. Mycologia 27(2):227.

Górz A, Boroń P 2018 – Episternus onthophagi: a new monotypic genus of epizoic fungus found on Onthophagus beetles (Scarabaeoidea). Phytotaxa 376(1):43–59.

Kruys Å, Huhndorf SM, Miller AN 2014 – Coprophilous contributions to the phylogeny of Lasiosphaeriaceae and allied taxa within Sordariales (Ascomycota, Fungi). Fungal Divers 70:101–113.

Lundqvist N 1969 – Zygopleurage and Zygospermella. Bot Notiser 122:353–374.

Lundqvist N 1972 – Nordic Sordariaceae s. lat. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 20:1–374.

Marin-Felix Y, Miller AN, Cano-Lira JF et al 2020 – Re-evaluation of the order Sordariales: Delimitation of Lasiosphaeriaceae s. str., and introduction of the new families Diplogelasinosporaceae, Naviculisporaceae, and Schizotheciaceae. Microorganisms 8(9):1430.

Mouton V 1897 – Troisième notice sur des ascomycètes nouveaux ou peu connus. Bulletin De La Société Royale De Botanique De Belgique 36:10–21.

Zhang ZF, Liu F, Zhou X et al 2017 – Culturable mycobiota from Karst caves in China, with descriptions of 20 new species. Persoonia: Mol Phylogeny Evol Fungi 39:1–31.

 

Entry by

Shi-Ke Huang, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China, The Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou Province, China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, The Mushroom Research Centre, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China

 

Published online 18 June 2026

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